Syria

Syria's President Bashar Assad has said his government has been receiving general messages from the American military about air strikes targeting the Islamic State group inside Syria, but there is no direct co-ordination.

US-led coalition air strikes on Syria have killed more than 500 people, mainly Islamic militants, since they began last month, activists said as fighting flared in the northern Syrian border town of Kobani.

The US-led coalition has intensified its aerial bombardment of Islamic State (IS) positions in the Syrian border town of Kobani as the extremist group fought street battles with Kurdish forces and reportedly rushed in reinforcements.

The US and and five Arab countries have launched air strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria for the first time, using fighter jets, bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from ships in the region.

Sixteen people, including three civilians, have been killed in air strikes by the Syrian army against an eastern town which was captured by fighters from an al Qaida breakaway group a day earlier, according to activists.

Syrian troops captured a famed Crusader castle near the border with Lebanon today, running the two-starred government flag high above the stone ramparts of the 12th century fortress after days of intense clashes with rebel fighters.

Syrian government and opposition delegates said talks to end their country’s civil war have reached an impasse, with the United States and Russia backing the rival camps and trading accusations over the deadlock.

Western powers have defied Russia’s veto threat and pushed forward with a United Nations resolution threatening sanctions against Syria, as Barack Obama attacked Moscow’s opposition to a measure to help millions in desperate need of humanitarian aid.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has ramped up criticism of Syrian president Bashar Assad, calling him a “one-man super-magnet for terrorism” who has committed war crimes and could be responsible for the ultimate disintegration of Syria.

Peace talks intended to carve a path out of Syria’s civil war got off to a rocky start today as a bitter clash over President Bashar Assad’s future threatened to collapse the negotiations even before they really begin.

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously last night to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, in a landmark decision aimed at taking poison gas off the battlefield in the escalating conflict.